North Korea- and Iran-linked hacking groups were behind most of the sharp increase in malware activity recorded on public blockchains this year, according to Chainalysis. The analytics firm said on-chain malware activity rose 420%, with state-linked actors responsible for roughly two-thirds of newly identified cases involving blockchain-hosted malware instructions or infrastructure.
Chainalysis said storing malicious data on public blockchains can make campaigns more resilient. Unlike domains, servers and code repositories, blockchain records are difficult to remove, allowing attackers to preserve access to operational information even after conventional infrastructure is taken offline.
North Korean activity extends across several networks
The report also linked the previously unattributed activity of UNC5342, a North Korea-linked group, to operations spanning Tron, Aptos and BNB Chain. In 2025, North Korean hackers used a related technique known as EtherHiding to distribute cryptocurrency-stealing code through smart contracts.
North Korea is also reportedly using remote workers from third countries, including Iran and Lebanon, to enter job interviews for positions at US companies. The jobs are then allegedly taken over by North Korean operatives, with the resulting income used to support the country’s weapons programs, NBC reported.
South Korea targets Polymarket activity
South Korean authorities have referred Polymarket users to prosecutors, arguing that transactions on the prediction market may constitute illegal gambling under the country’s Criminal Act. Officials said users stake assets on outcomes that cannot be predicted with certainty.
Metaplanet reduces share pool as Hong Kong weighs crypto opportunity
Japan-based Metaplanet has cut the potential share pool linked to its Series 10 stock rights from 319.464 million shares to 188.19 million. The company also reset the conversion ratio to the level that applied before its September 2025 international share offering.
The change followed controversy over a proposal that could have granted executives rights equivalent to as much as 20% of the company’s fully diluted shares. Metaplanet said the revision eliminates more than $220 million in warrant value and increases its Bitcoin holdings per fully diluted share by approximately 8.8%. The company is also planning a Hong Kong subsidiary.
Hong Kong crypto industry representatives are urging policymakers to take advantage of what they describe as a strategic opening created by the delayed US CLARITY Act vote. Allen Ding, director of Bitfire Research, called the situation a “strategic window,” while Cregis Technology founder Shawn Yan said Hong Kong should build infrastructure capable of operating across regulatory boundaries rather than waiting for one jurisdiction to define the market.
CoinEx to close after nine years
Hong Kong-based crypto exchange CoinEx plans to end operations after nine years. The company blamed declining trading volumes and liquidity during the bear market, as well as rising regulatory and compliance expenses. Withdrawals will remain available until Dec. 22.
India advances tokenized bonds and crypto enforcement
India’s Securities and Exchange Board and central bank have launched a tokenized corporate bond pilot. Three companies issued a combined 10.25 billion rupees, or about $107 million, through the new market infrastructure.
SEBI said the Demat 2.0 system allows corporate bonds to be issued and held as digital tokens on a distributed ledger operated by the country’s statutory depositories. The platform connects with the Reserve Bank of India’s wholesale central bank digital currency through its Unified Market Interface.
India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has completed a year-long series of hearings on cryptocurrency policy. The government is expected to respond the following week before the committee prepares and submits its report. Separately, the Enforcement Directorate is strengthening its ability to investigate cryptocurrency-related economic crimes and aims to complete such investigations within 18 months.
Vietnam and Singapore expand digital-asset infrastructure
Bitcoin Suisse plans to move up to half of its Swiss jobs to Bratislava and Vietnam. The Zug-based company, founded in 2013, provides cryptocurrency trading, custody, staking and lending services, and intends to establish a Vietnamese center focused largely on back-office and administrative work.
Vietnamese regulators are developing a framework to monitor crypto-asset service providers and investor transactions, drawing on recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force. Binance has also signed a memorandum of understanding to support development of the Vietnam International Finance Center in Ho Chi Minh City.
Singapore Exchange has received approval from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission to offer Bitcoin and Ether perpetual futures to US institutional investors. The approval makes SGX the first major Asian traditional financial exchange authorized to provide those products in the US market.
A recent Singapore High Court decision has also offered guidance on valuing crypto assets in legal claims. According to law firm Reed Smith, the ruling departs from the usual breach-date approach to damages and indicates that claimants cannot delay mitigation for years before seeking compensation based on a later, higher market price.
Regional rules and crypto-related crime
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed stablecoin rules that would limit transfers to 5 million baht per day, equivalent to approximately $151,000.
In Singapore, six Malaysian men received sentences of up to 12 years and 11 months, along with as many as 24 strokes of the cane, over a 2024 armed robbery involving cryptocurrency, cash and luxury goods.
Fitch Ratings has described Malaysia as one of the more crypto-friendly Muslim-majority countries. Malaysia’s Securities Commission has classified Bitcoin, Ether, XRP and Stellar as compliant with Sharia principles.
